Jeff Baker Rumors

The Rangers announced that they have agreed to terms with infielder/outfielder Jeff Baker while officially announcing the signing of left-handed pitcher Nate Robertson. Baker is represented by Scott Boras

Baker, 31, hit .248/.287/.405 with four homers in 68 games for the Cubs, Tigers, and Braves last season. The veteran drew interest from the Yankees earlier this winter as they were looking to add a right-handed bat to the mix in the outfield. Baker owns a career slash line of .296/.344/.498 against left-handers.

The Yankees are not close to a trade for an outfielder, reports ESPN's Buster Olney (Twitterlinks). Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com says the team continues to look for a right-handed bat, mentioning Vernon Wells, Scott Hairston, and Jeff Baker as targets.

The Cubs acquired minor league right-handerMarcelo Carreno and cash considerations from the Tigers to complete the August trade involving Jeff Baker, the Tigers announced (on Twitter). The Tigers acquired Baker from the Cubs for two players to be named later on August 5th only to send him to Atlanta for another PTBNL four weeks later.

Carreno, 21, just completed his fifth season in the Tigers organization. He spent the 2012 campaign with Class A West Michigan, posting a 3.23 ERA with 7.7 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9 in 139 1/3 innings over the course of 27 starts.

The Tigers announced that they have traded Jeff Baker to the Braves for a player to be named later. The 31-year-old was designated for assignment earlier today to make room for Avisail Garcia on the roster.

Baker appeared in 15 games for the Tigers this month after he was acquired from the Cubs. The veteran has played second base and all four corner positions this year, while posting a line of .254/.293/.408 in 181 total plate appearances. For his career, Baker boasts a strong batting line of .298/.346/.505 against left-handers.

The Tigers have designated Jeff Baker for assignment, according to the team's director of media relations, Brian Britten (on Twitter). Detroit recalled Avisail Garcia from Double-A Erie in a related move.

Baker, a right-handed hitter, appeared in 15 games for the Tigers after they acquired him from the Cubs on August 5th. The 31-year-old has played second base and all four corner positions this year, posting a line of .254/.293/.408 in 181 total plate appearances. A noted lefty masher, Baker has a career batting line of .298/.346/.505 against southpaws. He's a potential fit for the Giants, who are looking for a right-handed hitting outfielder.

The Tigers announced that they have acquired Jeff Baker from the Cubs in exchange for two players to be named later. The Cubs will receive the two PTBNLs either on or before October 31st.

Baker, 31, has a .269/.306/.448 slash line in 144 plate appearances on the year. The veteran has seen time at first base, second base, and the corner outfield positions this season and also has experience at third.

As for the Cubs, they will presumably bolster their farm system with this trade as they look to 2013 and beyond. Theo Epstein & Co. continued the youth movement today with the promotions of Josh Vitters and Brett Jackson.

Cody Ross was a walkoff hero for the Red Sox tonight, slugging a three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth off White Sox closer Addison Reed to give Boston a 3-1 win in the Battle Of The Sox. Here are some links from around the majors as we wrap up a busy Thursday of trade rumors…

The Nationals have decided on to shut down Stephen Strasburg at some point this season though it may not be at the 160-inning limit, GM Mike Rizzo tells ESPN's Pedro Gomez. "There is no magic number," Rizzo said. "It will be the eye test. (Manager) Davey (Johnson) won't decide and ownership won't decide. It will be the general manager, and that's me."

The Cubs are unlikely to make a major free agent signing this winter, as Theo Epstein tells CSN Chicago's Patrick Mooney that the team isn't far enough along in its rebuilding process. “Free agency’s definitely a nice way to add talent to an organization without giving up talent," Epstein said. "But you cannot make an organization that way. And we have a lot of steps ahead of us that we need to take care of before we’re in a position to add a finishing piece or two through free agency.”

Dodgers president Stan Kasten hinted that his team isn't likely to splurge in a blockbuster trade deadline deal, saying any trade the Dodgers make will "have to be governed by reason" and "make sense long term," he tells Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times.

Marlins president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest told reporters (including MLB.com's Joe Frisaro) that his team is running out of time to prove they're contenders before the Fish could be forced to sell some pieces at the deadline. “In terms of decision making, I don’t how that’s going to go,” Beinfest said. “I really don’t. We need to win games here to make sure we’re on the periphery of even thinking about getting into things….You believe in your talent and hope we get hot. I think that’s where we are right now. But every day that goes by, it gets tougher and tougher to do that.”

Dozens of arbitration eligible players have agreed to deals with their respective teams today and we've been tracking all of the developments right here. Several teams, including the Rays, Nationals, Marlins, White Sox, Blue Jays, Braves, and perhaps Astros, are known for committing to going to hearings if they get to the point of filing. Keep track of all the madness with MLBTR's arbitration tracker, which shows settlement amounts, filing figures, and midpoints. Today's players to avoid arbitration on deals worth less than $4MM:

The Red Sox and Cubs began negotiations today about the compensation package required to finalize Theo Epstein's move to Chicago, and WEEI's John Dennis reports that the talks have gotten off to a slow start. The Cubs just want to send money as compensation, while the Red Sox are looking for prospects instead. This seemingly represents a shift in Boston's stance from just yesterday, when SI's Jon Heyman reported the Sox preferred cash.

Here's the latest on those talks and a few other Theo-related items…

Negotiations between the Cubs and Red Sox "are moving along at a snail's pace," according to Bruce Levine of ESPN Chicago. "There's no such thing as a timetable for these transactions," but there doesn't appear to be anything major that would keep Epstein from eventually joining the Cubs.

Also from Levine, Cubs owner Tom Ricketts has presented a list of players to interim GM Randy Bush, scouting director Tim Wilken and director of player personnel Oneri Fleita. The front office members will report back to Ricketts indicating which of the players they would be comfortable trading to Boston as compensation.

"The Red Sox like utilityman Jeff Baker," writes Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe, though Baker alone wouldn't be suitable compensation. Cafardo says the Sox would also "love" to send John Lackey to the Cubs but unsurprisingly, "that is also a long shot." Cafardo lists a few of the Cubs' notable prospects who could conceivably go to the Sox, though I'd personally be surprised if Chicago would part with top minor leaguers like Brett Jackson or Matt Szczur.

In addition to taking some Boston front office members with him to Chicago, Epstein may also take some of the Red Sox medical staff, tweets Tony Massarotti of the Boston Globe.

Mike Quade says he wasn't consulted about the Cubs' pursuit of Epstein, the incumbent manager tells ESPN Chicago, though he has no hard feelings about not being a part of the GM search.

With no deal finalized yet, it was "business as usual" for Epstein, pending new Red Sox GM Ben Cherington and other front office staffers today, reports Gordon Edes of ESPN Boston.

Edes notes that the Red Sox gave Jed Hoyer and Josh Byrnes permission to take two front office members each when Hoyer and Byrnes left Boston for the GM jobs in San Diego and Arizona, respectively. Edes believes Mike Hazen, Boston's vice president of player development and amateur scouting, is "untouchable" both because the Red Sox brass his contribution to the club's minor league system and because the Cubs already have Wilken performing similar duties.

The Red Sox are "not pursuing anyone aggressively right now," a source familiar with the team's thinking told WEEI's Alex Speier. Instead, the team is currently trying to determine which internal solutions will work. We've heard the Red Sox named as one of the most aggressive suitors for Carlos Beltran, but that may not be the case.